May 6, 2009

Caron Thornton. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Caron Howell Thornton, executive director of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, has announced her retirement effective June 1.

The Alys Stephens Center is the University of Alabama at Birmingham's world-class performing arts center, attracting visitors from all over the Southeast and from all 50 states. The center hosts more than 300 events and welcomes 275,000 guests each year.

Thornton joined UAB as the Alys Stephens Center's first director in 1995 and was responsible for overseeing the final stages of the center's construction, programming its first season and the 1996 opening of the facility. In July 1997, she left UAB to become development director of the Knoxville Museum of Art. She returned to UAB in 1998 to oversee the completion of the next phase of the center's development, which included the opening of three additional venues at the center.

"I feel a great deal of pride to have been involved in building the center from the ground up and its growth over the years," Thornton said. "I can't say enough good things about the amazing people I've encountered on campus and in the community over the years, and the generosity of the Birmingham community has always astounded me.

"While I will miss my colleagues and the sheer vitality of what the center has to offer, I am looking forward to taking some time off and traveling," she said. "It's hard to leave in some ways, but the center is in very good hands and has a very bright future."

Thornton built programming at the Alys Stephens Center from nine performances presented by the center the first year to as many as 50 season performances. She also built alliances with the Alabama Ballet, Birmingham Music Club, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Chamber Music Society, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and others.

Among the many artists presented during Thornton's years as director were Itzhak Perlman, Bobby McFerrin, Renee Fleming, Frederica Von Stade, Mandy Patinkin, Neville Brothers, Cirque Eloise, Mark Morris Dance Group, Al Franken, The Chieftains, The Temptations, Natalie Cole, Willie Nelson, David Sedaris, the late George Carlin, Joshua Bell, Herbie Hancock, Pilobolus, Burt Bacharach, Lily Tomlin, Blind Boys of Alabama, Joan Baez, Ravi Shankar, Denyce Graves, Emmylou Harris, Wayne Newton, Diana Krall and Queen Latifah, to name a few.

"Caron played the lead role in helping UAB build a major performing arts center that has achieved national stature in a relatively short time," said Shirley Salloway Kahn, UAB vice president for Alumni, Development and External Affairs. "She also has put together a wonderfully talented staff who I know will continue to make the Alys Stephens Center the home for the performing arts in Birmingham.

"We are grateful to Caron for her dedication to the center, and I know I speak for others when I say we all wish her the very best."

Thornton has had a long career in arts administration. Before coming to UAB, Thornton worked at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, where she was associate director of the center's Avery Fisher and Alice Tully concert halls. In her nearly 35 years in the field she has done everything from artist selection, fundraising, programming, production, marketing sales, organizational development and facilities oversight to strategies and long range planning.

About the Alys Stephens Center

Located on the UAB campus, the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is one of the Southeast's premier performing arts centers, hosting the best in international, national and local performance. Home to the UAB departments of theatre and music and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the ASC also presents its own season, bringing the world's best music, dance, theater, comedy and family entertainment to Alabama. For more information on all Alys Stephens Center events and programs, visit www.AlysStephens.org.